The smart hospital of the future

is a hospital without walls

Position paper
Table of contents

Executive summary 3

Why health systems need to reinvent themselves 5

Moving toward smart ecosystems of care 7

The role of smart hospitals: four guiding principles 10

References 17

2
Executive summary
As healthcare becomes
increasingly digitalized, much
of the care that is delivered in
hospitals today will move into
the home and the community.
At the same time, hospitals will
continue to play a key role in the
distributed healthcare system
of the future, serving both
as a central physical hub and
as an orchestrator of a wider
ecosystem of care.
With the rising cost of care, growing staff
shortages, evolving patient expectations,
and persistent inequities in access to quality
care, the current hospital-centric model of
care delivery is under growing pressure.
Thanks to remote patient monitoring,
virtual collaboration, and other emerging
digital technologies, much of the care that
has traditionally been delivered in hospitals
can move into lower-cost settings that are
more easily accessible and convenient for
the patient – such as ambulatory centers,
retail clinics, and the home.
Over time, we envision that this will result
in the emergence of smart ecosystems of
care, in which secure digital infrastructures
and technologies seamlessly connect the
hospital to the home and the community.
Rather than being tied to one location,
healthcare will become a distributed
network. New delivery models – including
virtual care, mobile care, and walk-in care –
will bring healthcare closer to the patient.
As a result, the current episodic model
of care will evolve into more continuous
health management, to support the
growing number of patients living with
multiple chronic conditions. Wellness
and prevention will take center stage,
with smart and connected technologies
empowering people to live healthier lives.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) will
be able to predict when patients need
in intelligent ways for better end-to-end
care experiences and seamless transitions
care to prevent avoidable hospital (re) across care settings. It is highly flexible
admissions. and adaptive to evolving needs and
circumstances, combining high tech with
As this new reality takes hold, hospitals high touch to deliver superior care when
will continue to play a critical – albeit and where it is needed – always with the
different – role. Instead of providing patient at the center.
all services under a single roof as they
have traditionally done, the hospital
of the future will focus on delivering a
narrower set of specialized services and
acute care, while simultaneously taking a
more proactive and preventative role in
managing population health outside the
hospital. What emerges: a new healthcare
ecosystem, featuring hospitals without
walls.
With this broader distribution of
healthcare, system-wide orchestration will
take on increased importance. Connecting
data across settings will be required to
ensure that every patient gets the right
care in the right place at the right time.
In addition, hospitals will be forced to
make more efficient use of increasingly
scarce resources by optimizing their
workflows and driving out waste from
their processes.
A smart hospital, as we envision it,
connects people, data, and technology
3
More specifically, this paper outlines four
areas that can help hospital leaders chart
a path towards becoming a smart hospital
as part of a wider ecosystem of care:
1. Operational efficiency
Hospital care today is labor-intensive,
putting an increasing strain on staff
as hospitals grapple with growing
workforce shortages and alarming
rates of burnout. Smart hospitals rely
on workflow automation to liberate
healthcare professionals from repetitive
tasks that get in the way of providing
patient care. At the same time, they
use centralized operational insights to
forecast and manage patient flow across
settings, and to manage the allocation
of staff, beds, and medical equipment
for optimal resource utilization.
2. Clinical excellence
In their bid to provide superior specialist
and (post-)acute care, smart hospitals
connect patient data across different
modalities and systems, turning it into
insights that support clinical decision-
making at the point of care. As an
integrated part of a wider network of
care, they embrace virtual collaboration
and remote patient monitoring to
extend the line of sight for healthcare
professionals beyond hospital walls.
3. Experience-centricity
Recognizing that consumers want
to take a more proactive role in their
own care, smart hospitals empower
patients and their families with digital
engagement tools throughout their
care journey – even before they enter
the hospital. They also create human-
centric care environments that support
patient and staff well-being, even
under the most stressful conditions.
4. Innovation capability
Becoming a smart hospital is as
much about organizational and
cultural transformation as it is about
technology. Smart hospitals develop
and embed new organizational
capabilities to sustain digital
innovation and create a culture of
continuous improvement.
Hospitals that invest in all four areas
will be best positioned to address the
challenges facing today’s healthcare
industry and lead the way into the
future.
4
Why health systems
need to reinvent
themselves
Healthcare as we know it is on
an unsustainable trajectory.
Hospitals are already facing acute
staff shortages today, while the
prevalence of chronic disease
will only continue to increase in
the next few decades – creating
a growing human and financial
burden that forces us to urgently
reconsider how and where care is
delivered.
The numbers paint a clear and sobering
picture. Chronic diseases such as diabetes,
cancer, and heart disease affect one in
three adults worldwide today – a number
that is only set to rise due to rapid
urbanization, globalization of unhealthy
lifestyles, and aging populations.1
As a result, healthcare systems are coming
under increased financial pressure, with
healthcare expenditures taking an ever-
bigger chunk out of countries’ gross
domestic products.2 In many countries,
hospital care accounts for the largest share
of those expenditures, amounting to more
than $1 trillion in costs in the US alone.3
There’s a growing awareness that in order
for healthcare to remain affordable and
sustainable, it needs to move into lower-
cost settings whenever possible to address
people’s health issues at a much earlier
stage and ideally prevent them.
Increasing staff shortages
Adding to the challenge is that hospitals
are not staffed to keep pace with the rising
demand for care.
Globally, a shortage of 6 million nurses pre-
COVID plus 4.7 million set to retire in the
next few years has been exacerbated by an
exodus from pandemic-related burnout,
leading to an estimated shortfall of 13
Demand for care outstrips supply
million nurses by 2030.4 The outlook for
physician shortages is equally concerning,
prompting healthcare leaders to ask how
they can divert care away from labor-
intensive hospitals to more labor-efficient
home and community settings.
Evolving patient expectations
1 in 3 18 million
adults worldwide have one or more the expected global deficit of qualified
Meanwhile, patients expect more
multiple chronic conditions healthcare professionals by 2030
digitalized healthcare experiences that
don’t require them to spend precious time Preventive medicine reports 2018 World Health Organization 2019
and money on travelling when – in some
5
cases – they could just as well connect with
their doctors remotely. Having become
Patients expect more
familiar with the benefits of telehealth
during the pandemic, 60% of patients say seamless digital experiences
they find virtual care more convenient than
in-person care.5

Younger, digital-native generations in

particular are becoming increasingly
critical and informed consumers of
healthcare. In fact, 95% of patients aged
18-34 say they will switch providers if the
digital experience doesn’t live up to their 95%
expectations.6 of patients aged 18-34 say they
will switch providers if the digital
Taken together, this means healthcare care experience doesn’t meet their
providers find themselves in a perfect expectations
storm of having to meet new and growing
demands with a limited and increasingly Econsultancy 2021

exhausted workforce.

The pandemic has also shined a harsh

light on long-standing health disparities
in many parts of the world, kindling an
increased sense of social responsibility
among healthcare leaders to improve
access to quality care at affordable costs
for all patients, irrespective of location
or background.7 This is still a far cry from 60%
today’s reality in which half the world’s of patients believe virtual care is
population lacks access to the health services more convenient than in-person care
they need.8 We can and must do better.
McKinsey 2021

6
Moving toward
smart ecosystems
of care
To meet the growing demand for
affordable and accessible care,
building more hospitals cannot
be the only answer. Through
smart and connected technology,
healthcare providers can extend
care delivery beyond hospital
walls and bring it closer to the
patient, whether that is virtually
or physically, at home or nearby in
the community.
The trend towards out-of-hospital care
was already well underway before the
COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the
adoption of digital triaging, telehealth,
and remote patient monitoring. As the
2022 Philips Future Health Index report
reveals, healthcare leaders now view
extending care delivery beyond the
hospital as their highest priority after
staff satisfaction and retention.
Increasingly, we will see healthcare being
delivered through a distributed network
Four emerging care models in a distributed healthcare system
of ambulatory clinics, retail settings,
mobile care solutions, and home-based
monitoring. What will make these
ecosystems of care truly ‘smart’ is the
Care continuum
ability to connect and integrate patient
data across care settings – using AI, Healthy living/
the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud- Prevention
Diagnosis Treatment Recovery
based digital platforms to turn data into
actionable insights at scale, when and
where they are needed.
Virtual
Remote
Smart hospitals will be an essential care
 onitoring
m
part of the healthcare ecosystem of the
future, but they will no longer provide all
services under a single roof. Instead, they
will focus on delivering a narrower set
Care delivery models
of highly specialized services, including Mobile
care Clinics on wheels
diagnosis and treatment of acute, severe,
and complicated conditions. At the
same time, hospitals will take a more
prominent role in managing population
health in the community and at home. Walk-in Diagnostic
The smart hospital of the future will not care one-stop shops
be bound by walls – it will offer seamless
experiences that follow the patient
wherever they go.
Connecting the hospital to the home New hospital
The use of virtual care in particular has care
soared since the start of the pandemic, Specialty care
with adoption rates increasing 38-fold
between 2020 and 2021.9 Although A potential care scenario across emerging care delivery models along the care continuum.
this massive increase in uptake was
7
largely born out of necessity, healthcare
providers have come to recognize the
lasting potential of virtual care to keep
a caring eye on patients at home and
alleviate overstretched hospital resources.
By 2025, Gartner predicts that 40% of
care providers will have shifted 20% of
their hospital beds to the home, driven
by remote patient monitoring and AI-
enabled services that can help prevent
avoidable hospital (re)admissions
by picking up early signs of patient
deterioration.10
A case in point is Australian healthcare
provider West Moreton Health, which
already pioneered the use of remote
patient monitoring well before the
pandemic. Faced with disproportionately
high numbers of emergency department
visits and potentially avoidable
hospitalizations, they sought new ways of
making quality care accessible for high-
need, chronically ill patients.
In partnership with Philips, West Moreton
Health developed a virtual patient
engagement program called MeCare,
which uses home-based medical devices
to collect patient-reported outcome data
and biometric indicators including blood
pressure and oxygen levels. Outcomes
are reviewed in real time to proactively
engage participants with personalized
health coaching. Early results were
significant, showing a 28% reduction of
potentially preventable hospitalizations
in chronically ill patients.11 West Moreton
has since expanded the MeCare program
to include more patients and more use
cases, including most recently COVID-19
monitoring, medication management,
and mental health.
It’s a great example of how virtual care
can offer healthcare professionals a
window in patient’s day-to-day health. No
longer do they have to rely on episodic
measurements. They can now follow the
patient’s health over time and provide
ongoing care management, wherever that
patient is located. In this case, that means
patients in small rural communities in the
West Moreton area also get to benefit,
making the local healthcare system more
equitable and inclusive.
As another example, home-based
patient monitoring can support the early
detection of heart rhythm irregularities to
prevent (repeat) strokes, using wearable
patches. Such patches are becoming more
and more unobtrusive, allowing patients
to keep an active lifestyle while extending
the line of sight of physicians from the
hospital into the home. Cloud-based
AI can spot early signs of heart rhythm
disturbances based on more than 20
million ECG recordings, giving care teams
the insights they need to give patients
the care they need sooner and potentially
prevent more severe outcomes.12
8
Bringing care closer to the patient
In lockstep with the rise of virtual care, Regional hospital
we expect to see a further increase in • Remote patient monitoring
healthcare services being delivered in • Early warning scoring software
• Affiliated telehealth network coverage
walk-in settings such as department
Home
stores or community clinics. • Home respiratory solutions
• Sleep apnea therapy
• Remote patient monitoring
During the pandemic, pop-up clinics have • Patient portals, communication
played a pivotal role in relieving the strain and visits Clinic
• Connected devices
on overwhelmed healthcare systems by • Wearable sensor
• Integrated COPD care
• Care management
providing testing and vaccinations on a • Patient portals
large scale. There are many other routine
exams and medical procedures that could
also be delivered in community-based
settings to relieve hospital resources, Patient
improve access to care, and support early Skilled nursing facility
• Remote patient monitoring
detection and diagnosis of disease. • Wearable sensor
• Care coordination
• Connected devices
For example, the NHS in England is • Analytics
planning to build one community
diagnostic center for every 300,000 S pecialty hospital
people – amounting to up to 150 Hospital
• Patient management
solution
diagnostic hubs. These “one-stop • Tele-ICU • Tele-acquisition
shops”, which are located away from Transport • Telemetry • Tele-ultrasound
• Connected automated external • Monitoring
hospital sites closer to patients’ homes de�brillators (AEDs) • Wearable sensor
• Teleradiology
• Telepathology
and often on the high street or in • Communications and consults • Patient �ow • Interoperability
• AI-enabled clinical
retail locations, will provide specialist decision support tools
solutions
services for cardiovascular patients,
people with cancer, and those with
respiratory illnesses – supported by expert
teleconsultations where needed.13
to connect remotely through a secure, based labs or ambulatory surgery centers, health trucks, we can make care even more
Similarly, in the US, where people in rural clinical-grade environment. In addition, which can perform routine procedures at accessible to patients while connecting
or remote areas make up one fifth of the we are bringing innovations in image- lower cost while offering patients greater healthcare professionals with more
population, we have designed virtual care guided therapy closer to patients through convenience. Through mobile health experienced peers in a specialty hospital
stations that allow patients and providers out-of-hospital settings such as office- technology solutions such as mobile ICUs for remote support and guidance.14
9
The role of smart
hospitals: four
guiding principles
Smart hospitals play a pivotal
role in the smart and connected
healthcare ecosystem of the
future. By embedding digital
technologies into every aspect
of care delivery, hospitals can
improve operational efficiencies,
deliver clinical excellence, and
provide seamless end-to-end
patient experiences both within
and beyond hospital walls.
No patient wants to end up in hospital. But
when they do, they want their experience
to be as frictionless, comfortable, and
reassuring as possible, with minimal waits
and delays. Physicians and hospital staff,
for their part, want to focus on delivering
the best possible patient care, without
getting bogged down in administrative
duties or having to manually gather
different types of patient data.
The reality is that, despite impressive
advances in medical innovation, hospital
care today is all too often plagued by
disconnects and inefficiencies that get
in the way of optimal experiences and
outcomes. Information overload is a
growing issue, with 55% of healthcare
leaders in the 2022 Philips Future Health
Operational efficiency
Optimizing workflows and
Clinical excellence
Using data-driven insights
Index report expressing concerns that
resource utilization to free up for enhanced clinical quality
their staff is overwhelmed by the volume
of data that is available to them.15
focus for patient care and efficiency
That data is often locked away in silos,
hindering the ability to use it effectively.
Inefficiencies exact a financial cost, too,
in times when hospitals are operating on
razor-thin margins. In the US, for example,
it is estimated that 25% of healthcare
spending is wasted through issues such as
delayed discharge, poor transitions of care,
and suboptimal asset management.16
Experience-centricity Innovation capability
As healthcare becomes increasingly Creating frictionless Creating a culture of
distributed, connecting data across experiences for patients within continuous innovation and
settings and data sources – and turning and beyond hospital walls improvement
it into meaningful insights – will become
even more important to orchestrate
patient care effectively and efficiently.
A smart hospital, as we envision it,
connects people, data, and technology
in intelligent ways to 1) improve
operational efficiencies, 2) advance
clinical excellence, and 3) create seamless
patient experiences before, during, and
after hospital visits – all of which need to
be supported by 4) new capabilities to
create a culture of continuous innovation
and improvement.
10
Increasing operational
efficiencies to free up
focus for patient care
Smart hospitals rely on workflow
automation and data-driven
optimization to remove waste and
inefficiencies from their processes,
thereby enabling healthcare
professionals to focus on what drew
them to medicine in the first place:
taking care of patients.
Operational efficiency
Smart connected imaging
Automating routine tasks
to optimize workflows
Real-time location tracking
Reducing equipment search
times and maximizing asset
utilization
Patient flow management
Streamlining transitions of
care across settings
Smart connected imaging In more complex cases that require Real-time location tracking
additional guidance, experienced
One of the biggest opportunities
technologists in a central hub can provide
Another frequent source of frustration
afforded by smart technologies such and inefficiency that automation can
as AI is to automate much of the virtual over-the-shoulder support to help to address is lack of real-time insight
cumbersome manual work that is their less experienced or nonspecialist into asset location and utilization. For
wearing down physicians and staff. By colleagues at remote sites, while the example, more than a third of nurses
adding intelligence to medical systems patient is on the scanner table. Such hub- waste up to two hours a shift searching
and devices, they also become easier and-spoke models can be easily scaled for missing medical equipment such as
to use for lesser-qualified staff, making across several or even hundreds of sites. mobile infusion pumps.19 In the absence
hospitals less dependent on scarce Not only does this help to standardize of reliable utilization data, hospitals
specialists without compromising on image quality and reduce the need for may unknowingly be procuring more
quality and patient safety. unnecessary recalls and repeats, it can equipment than is needed for one
also make advanced imaging such as MR department, while there are structural
For example, in MR imaging, smart and accessible at more sites, closer to where shortages in other departments.
touchless patient sensing technology patients live, at more flexible hours.18
can automatically monitor a patient’s
breathing – allowing the setup of
routine MR exams to occur in less than
a minute, even for less experienced
operators, while helping them keep a
caring eye on the patient. In addition,
smart AI-enabled systems can suggest
the most appropriate protocol for each
MR exam, speed up image acquisition,
as well as automate exam planning,
scanning, and processing.17
The point of such innovations is not to
remove clinical and technical staff from the
loop. It’s to equip them with actionable
intelligence at their fingertips, with
solutions that are deeply embedded into
their workflows and designed to augment
their capabilities. That means less time
figuring out equipment settings, and more
time interacting with the patient.
11
Track-and-trace-like solutions – using
tracking based on radiofrequency
identification (RFID) or infrared (IR) – can
help staff find the nearest equipment
more quickly. At the same time, real-time
location data can be integrated with
other information such as data from
Electronic Medical Records to provide
hospital administrators with actionable
insights that help them optimize
workflows and equipment utilization.
Using such a real-time location system,
one Dutch hospital managed to identify
the potential to save 20% on asset search
times and € 1 million on equipment
investments based on more accurate
utilization rates.20
A similar tagging mechanism can be
used to follow patients throughout their
care journey, for example as they move
through the emergency department
(ED). This can help answer questions
like: How much time do patients spend
in the triage room? How long do they
have to wait for their radiology exam?
Early pilots have shown how such real-
time operational insights can help
administrators manage patient flow in
the ED as well as optimize equipment
and bed utilization.21
Managing patient flow
Over time, these department-level
solutions will evolve into enterprise-
wide IoT platforms, capturing accurate As healthcare becomes more distributed, gets the right care in the right place at
and real-time information about patients, centralized care coordination will be the right moment. Whether that’s in
beds, and equipment across care settings further extended into the home, using a hospital, the home, or a community
through smart sensors and ubiquitous remote diagnostics and monitoring to setting.
interconnectivity. This information will keep a caring eye on patients as they
then feed into central command centers resume their daily lives. Based on a deeper understanding of
that manage transitions of care from one patterns in patient demand and patient
setting to the next, much like an air traffic Ultimately, that is how healthcare systems flow, healthcare leaders can also start
control tower coordinates hundreds of of the future will manage patient flow creating long-term strategies for hospital
flight paths simultaneously. Coupled with more effectively and efficiently across the capacity planning, making better informed
predictive analytics, this can help hospitals patient journey – relying on data-driven decisions about the types of care settings
forecast and prevent bottlenecks in decisions to ensure that the right patient and resources that are needed.
patient flow before they occur, thereby
reducing waits and delays across the
hospital and ensuring timely discharge for
home-based monitoring.22
Ultimately, we envision the smart hospital
as a fully interconnected and intelligent
system that can dynamically adapt in the
moment, making staff and equipment
available where they are needed most – for
example when a disaster or local incident
occurs. With the logistical challenges of
the COVID-19 pandemic fresh in mind, this
will help hospitals become more resilient in
the face of future crises.23
Based on a digital twin of a department
or even a full hospital, administrators can
also run virtual simulations that help them
test and evaluate the impact of changes in
capacity and staffing before implementing
them – enabling continuous operational
optimization.24
12
Driving clinical excellence
based on data-driven
insights
Just like smart technologies can
bring more insight, predictability,
and efficiency to hospital operations,
they can also help clinicians deal
with a growing deluge of often
disconnected patient data to support
more integrated and efficient
precision care.
Clinical excellence
Integrated diagnostics
Supporting multi-disciplinary
collaboration
Smart patient monitoring
Enabling timely care
interventions based on
predictive insights
Remote clinical oversight
Empowering clinical staff at the
bedside
Integrated diagnostics
Take cancer care, for example. As we
advance our understanding of cancer,
more and more patient information is
becoming available to clinicians – including
various medical images, pathology reports,
genomics, and molecular test results.
Pulling all that information together
manually can be time-consuming and is
also prone to error.
In collaboration with our clinical
innovation partners, including Karolinska
University Hospital in Sweden, we
have developed digital dashboards
that automatically integrate patient
information from different sources for
collaborative decision-making. As a
result, we have been able to improve
the efficiency of multidisciplinary tumor
board meetings at Karolinska University
nurses and physicians don’t have time In the smart hospital of the future, we
Hospital through a 24% reduction in
time spent per patient case, without to go through through large amounts will see more and more smart wireless
compromising on patient outcomes.25 of disparate data. They need timely and patches – or even contactless, light-based
contextually relevant insights that they sensing – enabling ubiquitous patient
Smart patient monitoring can act on immediately in the critical monitoring throughout the hospital.
moments that matter. For example, by Mobile connected devices will reduce
Similarly, in acute and post-acute care,
pioneering the use of automated early dependency on bedside equipment,
smart patient care management solutions
warning scores that pick up on signs making care teams more flexible to
can integrate data from a plethora of
of patient deterioration in the general move around as needed. Avatar-based
monitoring devices and then filter that
ward, one hospital was able to reduce monitoring can further reduce cognitive
data intelligently for clinical use.
the number of serious adverse events load by integrating patient data in a
in patients by 35% and the number of highly visual way, providing an at-a-
With an ever-growing list of tasks
cardiac arrests by 86%.26 glance overview of their health status.
constantly competing for attention,
13
Remote clinical oversight
To mitigate growing shortages of
qualified nurses and intensivists, highly
trained specialists in centralized hubs
will oversee patients and support their
bedside colleagues remotely.

Remote care for patients in intensive care

units, known as tele-ICUs, can extend
critical care resources to the bedside
independent of a health facility’s
location. This provides the ability to
standardize care across sites while
maximizing bed utilization. In previously
published studies, tele-ICU programs
have been shown to reduce ICU mortality
by 20%27, generate care savings of nearly
$1,500 per patient across a 60-day
post-ICU episode28, and reduce ICU
length of stay by 30%29.

During the pandemic, tele-ICUs have

played a pivotal role in providing critical
care support as ICUs were flooded with
patients. With COVID-19 primed to leave
a lasting mark on healthcare delivery, the
next few years will likely see a further
expansion of tele-ICU programs around
the world. Remote clinical oversight also
has the potential to alleviate staff in
lower-acuity areas such as the general
ward, ensuring that patients get the best
possible care as they transition from one
setting to the next.

14
Creating seamless
experiences within and
beyond hospital walls
With smart technologies offering
so many possibilities to optimize
hospital care, it’s the ability to create
seamless patient experiences across
their care journey that ultimately glues
everything together. And in the smart
healthcare system of the future, that
journey starts well before the patient
enters the hospital.
Digital patient engagement
Digital self-triaging can help patients
assess their symptoms and determine
the next best step, including the most
appropriate care setting. Online self-
scheduling allows them to book an
appointment just as easily as they would
book a taxi or a flight. And when patients
receive educational content in advance,
going into the hospital no longer needs
to be a step into the unknown. Patients
will know what to expect and feel more
at ease as a result. Personalized reminders
can help ensure they arrive in time,
reducing no-shows by up to 42%.30
as much as 70%, improving clinical
efficiency as well as patient experience.31
Similarly, in minimally invasive image-
guided therapy, ambient experience
can help reduce patient anxiety before
and during interventional procedures,
allowing interventionists to operate more
productively and efficiently.
Adaptive healing environments
In the future, combining ambient
experience with smart contactless
sensing will allow hospitals to create
increasingly adaptive healing rooms and
environments, for example by adjusting
the lighting or temperature based on
patient’s stress levels. As a result, hospital
rooms will offer patients a greater sense
of comfort and well-being, promoting
speedy recovery and patient satisfaction.
Following hospital discharge, remote
patient monitoring will allow patients
to resume living the lives they love
more quickly, in the comfort of their
homes. Clinical oversight from virtual
care teams will help spot early signs of
health deterioration to enable timely and
targeted intervention.

Once patients arrive at the hospital, a

Experience-centricity
Digital patient engagement
Involving patients in their own
care at every step of the way
Ambient experience
Reducing patient stress and
anxiety before and during
procedures
Healing environments
Supporting patient well-being
and post-treatment recovery
virtual waiting room allows them to check
in using their mobile phones. Staff receive
an automatic notification via the EHR
system and can send a text message back
once they are ready to see the patient.
Digital wayfinding can then guide patients
through the hospital, helping them get to
their appointment without stress.
Ambient experience
For patients who need to undergo an
exam or procedure, ambient experience
solutions can provide further information
and guidance during scanning or prior
to the procedure, while offering a
personalized audiovisual experience that
puts patients at ease. In MR imaging,
this has shown to reduce re-scans by
15
Developing and
embedding digital
innovation capabilities
Becoming a smart hospital is as
much about organizational and
cultural transformation as it is
about technology, calling for new
organizational capabilities that
help sustain digital innovation and
establish a culture of continuous
improvement.
Innovation capability
Purpose-driven
A unified digital strategy
aligned with organizational
objectives and key results
Empowered teams
Supported by new funding and
governance models
Agile approach
Continuous improvement
based on data-driven insights
With new technologies come new
opportunities. But as healthcare leaders
move towards digital care delivery
models and new ways of working, they
simultaneously have to manage their day-
to-day operations with increasingly limited
resources. It’s a delicate balancing act of
performing and transforming, of “being”
and “becoming” at the same time. Without
meaningful organizational transformation
and buy-in from all relevant stakeholders,
digital transformation initiatives in
healthcare often fail to deliver on
expectations.
Clarity of purpose
Sustained transformation starts with clarity
of purpose. For digital initiatives to succeed,
they must be aligned to organizational
strategy and objectives, whether that
is to improve operational efficiencies,
achieve clinical excellence, or improve
the experience for patients and staff – or
typically a combination of those goals.
Once a direction has been set, a next
step is to agree on a set of specific and
manageable problems that are most
important for digital technologies
to address. Co-creation sessions with
healthcare leaders and professionals at
all levels of the organizations can help
to bring those problems to the surface.
Digital maturity assessments, benchmark
analyses, and data visualization tools
can all provide additional insights to Coupled with the flexibility and
help develop a shared digital roadmap scalability of cloud-based platforms as
and measure progress on clearly defined a technological foundation, this allows
objectives and key results. innovation teams to develop and put
new digital applications into the hands of
Empowered, agile teams physicians or patients more quickly, and
then add new or improved features and
To successfully deliver on those objectives,
functionalities as they gather additional
hospitals need to bring together clinical
user feedback. That means hospitals get
experts, data scientists and technology
to innovate faster, and in smaller, more
developers in dedicated, cross-functional
innovation teams. Rather than focusing digestible increments – all while focusing
on one-off deliverables, those teams on what ultimately matters most:
should be empowered to take ownership delivering better patient care.
of solving problems and improving
specific aspects of patient care over
time. This process is never done; it’s a
continuous loop of identifying unmet
needs, experimenting, iterating, and
optimizing for agreed-upon outcomes.
That also requires rethinking traditional
annual budgeting and multi-year
planning cycles, which tend to slow down
innovation. With rapidly evolving patient
needs and accelerating technological
advances, hospitals need to be able to
experiment faster – and then double
down on what works, while discarding
what doesn’t. To accelerate digital
innovation, hospital leaders can take
inspiration from other industries, where
lean funding and governance models
enable innovation teams to operate
with a high degree of autonomy and
accountability.
16
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13 https://www.philips.co.uk/healthcare/resources/landing/
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14 https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/news/archive/standard/
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17